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Your Golf Game - The Uplifting Topic


iacas

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My wife and I played Iberostar Cancun, site of Big Break Csncun.  I’ve always wanted to play a course I have seen on TV.  We get there, check in and told by the starter you have a choice.  Go have breakfast, hit the range and tee off at 8 behind those two foursomes or go now.  We went straight to the tee😊👌

I play from the forward tees.  Shot 43-43. The cool thing about the round was on hole 18 there is a semi-blind tee shot in that you can see the green but not the landing area. I had been hitting my 13 degree well all day but since the hole was only 268 from the up tees I use rescue club. Good thing I did! The ball lands 10 feet from the water guarding the hole.  I was the first to record closest to the pin on hole 12 so will see how that stacks up.  

I am focusing on staying centered over the ball during my swing.  This has improved my contact and distance immensely.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Haven't played for a week! Temps have dipped below freezing for the last 5 or so days. Some courses closed for the season last Sunday, others announced a November 11th closing date. Weather forecast looks bad through the 13th! Crossing my fingers that we might get out a week from now. Played until December 5th last year! That only happens about twice in a ten year stretch! 

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Winter seems to have hit Chicago - light snow yesterday and temps in the 20's this morning. Hope to get a few more rounds in before Mother Nature shuts me down. Hope to pull out my hickories and play few rounds from the the forward tees- have fun and forget to carry a scorecard!

Just an older guy with 7 or 8  clubs and a MacKenzie Walker bag

 

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11 hours ago, RWC said:

Winter seems to have hit Chicago - light snow yesterday and temps in the 20's this morning.

Wrong topic man. 😞

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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13 hours ago, iacas said:

Wrong topic man. 😞

@RWCgo ahead and play! I'll come up and thaw out your ice statue next spring and all will be OK! The Swedes say, No bad golf weather; just bad golf clothes! Best, -Marv😎

22 hours ago, dennyjones said:

Made an appointment for a full bag fitting at Club Champion!   Nervous and excited.   

I'd like to hear about that! Best, -Marv

DRIVER: Cleveland 588 Altitude ( Matrix Radix Sv Graphite, A) IRONS: Mizuno JPX-800 HD Irons & 3,4,5 JPX Fli-Hi (Grafalloy Prolaunch Blue Graphite, R); WEDGES: (Carried as needed) Artisan Golf 46, 50, 53, 56 low bounce, 56 high bounce; PUTTER: Mizuno TP Mills 9

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When out traveling around in our rv, I tend to focus on golf. Playing courses where I find them. My wife is more of a sightseeing, photo buff. However, she does play her own version of the golf game, and of course I own a camera too. 

On our trips we meet new folks all the time. Most are met when we pull into RV court, we have neighbors. I meet new folks at the golf course, and smetimes those golfers are fellow RVers

Such was the case yesterday. My neighbor saw me cleaning my clubs, and came over to chat about golf equipment and the game in general. 

At one time he was an avid golfer. Said he never made it to a low, single digit handicap, but developed a respectful love of the game. 

His playing days are now over due physical issues due to diabetes. 

As we were talking, he asked me how old my clubs were. I told him this particular set of irons were around 20 odd years old. He remarked that I had taken good care of them. At that point he asked me if I knew anyone who could use an old set of Pings, as he no longer had any use for them. I told him not off hand, but I generally donate older golf equipment to the juvenile diabetes foundation. He said good deal and gave his set of Pings. He went on to tell me he got these Ping irons used, 40 some years ago. I told him I would give them to the JDF in his name. We ended our conversation with a hand shake, and a ttyl.

When I finished cleaning my clubs, I check out his bag of clubs. Turns out these irons are Karsten 1 Irons. Although they look well used, these are some what of a rare set of irons.

I figured I better go tell him what he was giving away, that he might want to do something else with them on his own. He told me to keep them, and to find them a good home. His wife even expressed to me, her agreement with his wishes. 

I exchanged phone numbers, and emails with him. Told him I would let him know about his clubs. 

Heading back to my own digs, I kind felt sorry for this man. Giving up his golf clubs, since he can no longer use them. Pretty tough decision on his part. 

 

In My Bag:
A whole bunch of Tour Edge golf stuff...... :beer:

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This is an outrage! Played as a 5 some today, 34 degrees and only 5 showed up. That's only a minor outrage. We decided in honor of the upcoming MATCH in Vegas to play a variety of side bets, longest drive, worst hook, closest to the pin, first on green, longest from the hole after your first putt pays everybody. You know, serious golf stuff for 50 cents, maybe a buck. We also paid for birdies and sandys. This is where the outrage occurred. I pull a shot a bit left, 20 yards or so, on a par three. There's a bunker between me and the green. I did not get my chip to an ideal altitude, it hit into the bunker, popped out and rolled across the green and into the hole! A sandy and a birdy!! Not so fast they say, I have to hit the ball in the bunker, then play it out, then make the putt. I say the ball was in the sand, granted for a short time, and now its in the hole. Pay up! I lost the discussion, but at least got paid for the 2.

We need to start writing these rules down.....

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not sure if this goes here or in the winter depression thread, but I played 18 holes this weekend. 18 holes in December in Central Ohio is worth bragging about. It was really really really wet out there. Got almost no roll. Still shot 83, which is okay for me. Especially since I posted a snowman on the easiest hole on the course. Not kidding; It's a short par 4 with no trouble to speak of. 

My bag is an ever-changing combination of clubs. 

A mix I am forever tinkering with. 

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Several months ago, maybe more than a year ago (?) I culled my golf gear down quite a bit. I donated a lot of stuff to those who might get better use out out of it.

It was mostly spare sets of clubs that I had acculated over the years. Some I had even played. I kept a few loose clubs for reasons I can't explain. Maybe for nostalgic reasons, I don't know. 

I did keep two complete sets of clubs and their bags. Just didn't want to part with them. They were two generations of gamers that provided a lot of great memories over the years I played them. Good weather, bad weathe, great, and not so great shots, these clubs never let me down. 

The older set is pretty much all irons (2i-LW) and I played to a single digit handicap using them way back when. Played alot of rounds with them, a driver, and my favorite putter at the time. 

The newer set is made up of 4 metal woods, irons, and my newest, favorite putter. They suit my current (dinosaur) game pretty well.

The plan was to finally donate the older set, and get myself down to one set to finish out how many ever years of golf I have left in me. Problem is, I just can't part ways with those older Ironwoods. 

I have tried mixing up the sets, which worked for a while. I tried coming up with excuses to play one set more than the other which kind of worked. However, no matter what I did, I basically still shot the same scores. Mid to low 80s, sometimes a 79, or 78. 

So, this golf season I have decided to play both sets separately. When ever in doubt on which set to play, I will just flip a coin. 

I will say that showing up on the first tee, to play with strangers, with just a driver, 12 irons, and a putter in my bag does get me some serious looks. I just look back at them and say "hey I'm a throw back, let's play". 

In My Bag:
A whole bunch of Tour Edge golf stuff...... :beer:

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My regular foe went off the rails a month ago.  Completely lost it.  He called me last Friday at noon and we met up at the course.  It was about 45 with rain threatening.  I won 2 up but we both played great.  He told me, afterwards, that he had come close to giving up the game.  I don't think that was really in the cards but it was good to see my favorite playing partner playing like he can.

In der bag:
Cleveland Hi-Bore driver, Maltby 5 wood, Maltby hybrid, Maltby irons and wedges (23 to 50) Vokey 59/07, Cleveland Niblick (LH-42), and a Maltby mallet putter.                                                                                                                                                 "When the going gets tough...it's tough to get going."

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There's a thread on here about 2019 golf goals. One of mine was to continue to play consistently decent golf. So far, since I took a break from playing, then started my new season, I have so far accomplished that goal. 

Another personal goal was to stay healthy enough to continue to play and/or practice everyday. So far, so good on that one. 

A few weeks ago, I got a flu shot at my wife's insistence. "Old people need flu shots. You are an older person"  was her continuous chant. First one in decades for me. I was afraid I would get the flu anyways, plus it's been several years since I have had anything close to the flu. Bronchitis a few years back iirc. But I have always caught a cough, and/or cold this time of year, that slowed me down a little. My golf scores suffered a little. 

So far this year I have been "sniffle" free, which I guess can be credited to that flu shot. That, and a new script for allergies. 

So, staying healthier this fall as it leads into winter, I have been playing very good (for me) golf, consistently. I have maintained an 83, or 4.61 per hole average. Have played about 24 rounds the past couple of months, which have ranged from a 79, to an 89. (The 89 stands out because I made a long putt for bogie on the last hole for that 89.) Most rounds  have been in the low 80s. I have had 2 holes where I scored a 6, several 5s, several 4s, and seven 3s. 

I owe this golfing good fortune this time of year,  to staying healthier than I have in the past during the fall winter months. 

I figure if I can get through the next 8 weeks sniffle, and/or sick free, the rest of the year will be easy as far as keeping my golf game mid/low 80s. . 

In My Bag:
A whole bunch of Tour Edge golf stuff...... :beer:

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On 10/16/2018 at 9:16 AM, ChetlovesMer said:

This past Saturday I played with some neighbors on a course I know well. I was hitting the driver well all day. Then on hole 11 (a relatively easy par 4) I suddenly over-cook my driver and send it deep out of bounds on the left. Oh well, 3 from the tee, I can still make bogey. Nope, snap hook then next drive much worse than the previous one. Hmmm.... 5 from the tee. Oh, my goodness, another snap hook... now it's in my head. I’m about to hit 7 from the tee. So, I go grab a 7 iron from the bag and just knock a ball out into the fat part of the fairway.  

Now, the part I’m proud of. We tee off on hole 12. I pulled driver and tried to relax. Exhaled. I slowed everything down. Stepped up to the ball and absolutely striped it! My best drive of the day. It was a little right of center but still in the fairway. 306 yards. (Before, this post gets moved to the “Stop Lying About Your Distance” thread.) 306 yards is what Arccos tells me it went. (Plus, I only had 46 yards to the pin on a 365 yard hole, so it was probably correct.) 

I ended up birdieing hole 12 after taking an 11 on hole 11. (My friends and I named it the Spinal Tap Hole.) I shot 87 for the day. Which I didn’t think was too bad after having an 11 on the card.  

 

What I’m really proud of is that there once was a time when a blow-up hole like that would have totally derailed my round.  Or at least made me completely lose faith in the driver. But I pulled it back together and got back on track. Hit the best drive of my round and made a birdie. 2 holes later I pulled driver again on a notorious “Non-Driver” hole -> Water on the left heavy trees on the right. Was able to fade it toward the trees and keep it dry and only just off the fairway on the right.

 

There’s an old saying that “Confidence won’t keep an airplane in the air”. But I can tell you from experience that if you lose your confidence it will absolutely hurt your golf game. Not sure if that's the kind of thing that supposed to go in this thread, but I was really proud of it, so I thought I'd share. 

That is awesome. Keeping it together after an 11 in the middle of your round is not easy.  Mental approach after bad shots/holes is something I am still learning to cope with.  You being a single digit hcp and still having moments like that reminds someone like me that bad things are going to happen out there to everyone, and how you respond is critical. That a bad shot/hole will only sink your round if you let it.  Cool story.

On this topic my example would be very similar.  It's a two-parter. I had a round where I parred the first 3 holes and then threw up ten on 4. I let it completely ruin my round mentally, feeling I let a chance to have a good scoring day (for me) get away.  Needless to say it corrupted my swing and virtually every shot after and it only compounded (100+ round). I took it as a lesson.  Fast forward 2 weeks.  I got off to a hot start, playing the best I'd ever played, nothing bigger than bogey (maybe 1 double) through 15. Then comes the 16th, and maybe it was the weight of knowing I was in the middle of my best round, but I pushed two tee shots OB and took a 9.  I was pissed for 3 solid minutes feeling I ruined my best round I have ever had.  But I gathered myself and on 17 knocked a 7 iron 10 feet from the pin, two putt par.  Then went on to par the 18th also for my lowest round ever of 87 and first time breaking the 90 barrier playing strict rules.  If I didn't gather myself I surely would have cost myself that milestone. That part felt as good as the actual score in a way. 

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2 hours ago, MD5225 said:

That is awesome. Keeping it together after an 11 in the middle of your round is not easy.  Mental approach after bad shots/holes is something I am still learning to cope with.  You being a single digit hcp and still having moments like that reminds someone like me that bad things are going to happen out there to everyone, and how you respond is critical. That a bad shot/hole will only sink your round if you let it.  Cool story.

On this topic my example would be very similar.  It's a two-parter. I had a round where I parred the first 3 holes and then threw up ten on 4. I let it completely ruin my round mentally, feeling I let a chance to have a good scoring day (for me) get away.  Needless to say it corrupted my swing and virtually every shot after and it only compounded (100+ round). I took it as a lesson.  Fast forward 2 weeks.  I got off to a hot start, playing the best I'd ever played, nothing bigger than bogey (maybe 1 double) through 15. Then comes the 16th, and maybe it was the weight of knowing I was in the middle of my best round, but I pushed two tee shots OB and took a 9.  I was pissed for 3 solid minutes feeling I ruined my best round I have ever had.  But I gathered myself and on 17 knocked a 7 iron 10 feet from the pin, two putt par.  Then went on to par the 18th also for my lowest round ever of 87 and first time breaking the 90 barrier playing strict rules.  If I didn't gather myself I surely would have cost myself that milestone. That part felt as good as the actual score in a way. 

Congratulations, every milestone feels great. Good job, keeping it together. 

My bag is an ever-changing combination of clubs. 

A mix I am forever tinkering with. 

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Earlier this week, some friends, and I played a course with 3 separated 9 hole legs. The original plan was to play 18 holes. This turned into deciding to play 27 holes. Thought was the other 9 holes were there, so why not use them. 

Well, some where towards the end of our 27 hole round, someone declared "lets just make it 36 holes", so we did that.

I would be sore for a day or two afterwards. My buds would be too.  But heck, we were enjoying ourselves. 

Our average ages for our foursome this day was probably around 65, or 66. I was the oldest. 

I played particularly well for the 36 holes, as I averaged a few tenths below my normal per hole average. I was tired when we walked off the 36th green. Won, and lost a few skins, probably not breaking even by a few dollars. Anything won, or lost was spent on dinner afterwards. We all won in the end. 

More to the point of this post. Something I have know for years has to do with one's mental golf game. This 36 hole day reminded me of how as a golfer, my mental game will evolve during a round to fit how how my game changes during that round. Most of the time I hardly ever take notice what my mental game is doing, outside of my preshot routine, which itself is usually on auto pilot.. However, during this marathon of play, I had to think, and make mental changes.

Ball flight distaces became shorter. What started as an 8i distance, turned into a 7i as the round progressed.Maybe even an open 6i. My driver swing slowed down.  I was seeing the same holes I previously played differently. Landing areas to set up my next shot became different. Chips, and putts at the green needed a little extra diligence on my part. 

I know it's the same when I play 18 holes say, two or three days in a row. No two, or three days are exactly a like when playing. However, it really became apparent playing 36 non stop. 

 

 

In My Bag:
A whole bunch of Tour Edge golf stuff...... :beer:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Earlier today, while cleaning up my clubs, and bags, I starting thinking about my golf journey. Especially as brand new beginner just starting out. 

I know as a newby, all I thought I had to do was just grab a club, throw a ball down, and instantly become the next Nicklaus, Lema, Palmer, or whomever else was popular at the time. Yeah, a big eye opening surprise that turned out to be. 

My first clubs were rusted tools for the most part. Some guy named Snead had his named stamped on them. Never crossed my mind at my early start, that there were clubs out there that were "more forgiving", whatever that meant. Hey they were golf clubs. Cost me $10 for the bag, clubs, and a trolley..The bag even had a few balls in it. Possibly, from what I could tell, one of the original, first made Baby Ruth candy bars. Eventually I solved the forgiving clubs issues, with a $99 set from K-Mart. ( I don't remember Wal Mart being around as yet) 

Next was instruction. What instruction? I have new, for giving clubs. Just hit the ball with them. Move over Trevino, and make way for the phenom. Yeah, another eye opener. 

Along in my journey some place I heard the term "Drive for show. Putt for dough". That, and "practice your short game to save  more strokes". Did that and it worked....a little. Things were looking up. 

What the hell is all the talk about a golfer's "metal game"? "Course management"? I didn't own the course.why should I manage it? Mental stuff? No problem, as I was smart enough to buy those forgiving clubs, and was saving strokes with that short game thing.

Rules? A whole book of rules discribing penalties for sme things I had not even seen yet? My score card is bogus? That lateral water hazard rule did sound pretty good though, and was one I could readily use. 

I could use a sand wedge from a grassy lie? 

Who really thinks when first starting out that the game required different swings, from different lies, in different situations,  using different body set ups. That there were several, sepate pieces to the swing that independently, had to work together to creat a consistent, playable swing. That instruction was a choice between seeing, hearing, or feeling said instruction

I could go on, and on about my learning expierience about playing golf. Fortunately it only took a couple of months for me to actually realize there was much, much more to this game than just hitting the ball with tools, that were probably designed to cause fear in the eyes of the first time user in the first place. 

 

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In My Bag:
A whole bunch of Tour Edge golf stuff...... :beer:

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On 11/17/2018 at 12:29 PM, Patch said:

Heading back to my own digs, I kind felt sorry for this man. Giving up his golf clubs, since he can no longer use them. Pretty tough decision on his part. 

Yes...But maybe the paths of two men who love golf converged for the purpose of turning the old clubs into a force for good. Happy New Year! -Marv

DRIVER: Cleveland 588 Altitude ( Matrix Radix Sv Graphite, A) IRONS: Mizuno JPX-800 HD Irons & 3,4,5 JPX Fli-Hi (Grafalloy Prolaunch Blue Graphite, R); WEDGES: (Carried as needed) Artisan Golf 46, 50, 53, 56 low bounce, 56 high bounce; PUTTER: Mizuno TP Mills 9

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is a GREAT thread! 

In November my wife and I were in Vegas for our anniversary. She took a spa day and I played a round of golf at Bali Hai. I shot 42 on the back 0 including a birdie on a 190yd par 3. I had an 11 hole stretch that I played at 5 over which is by far the best stretch of golf I have ever played.

I have much to learn and my swing needs a ton of help for me to be able to consistently play well. But that was a really good day.

Andy - Awful Golfer With Horrible Slice Hoping to find something resembling a correct golf swing in 2019 - Determined not to let my pursuit of better than awful get in the way of enjoying being out on a golf course

WITB:
Ping G400 LST / Orlimar 3W & 4H (circa 2012) / Cobra King F7 One Length Irons (5 - GW) / Top Flite Wedges 52* 56* 60* / Orlimar Putter

My Swing Page

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